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Archive for December 20th, 2014
Fracking ban reflects power of committed citizens
Posted by Poughkeepsie Journal: Jimmy Buff on December 20th, 2014
Poughkeepsie Journal: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” — Margaret Mead
New Yorkers were treated to a front-row seat of Mead’s words in actions last week when, after years of fighting, fracking was banned here. And while the anti-fracking movement had grown large and loud, it began with a few individuals and groups who managed to forestall a headlong rush into an action that could have had irreversible consequences for...
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Keystone ‘not even nominal benefit’ US consumers, Obama says
Posted by Hill: Laura Barron-Lopez on December 20th, 2014
Hill: President Obama on Friday said building the Keystone oil pipeline would “not even have a nominal benefit” to consumers, pushing back at claims it would lower gas prices further. Obama stressed that the issue at hand for Keystone is “not American oil, it is Canadian oil.” “That oil currently is being shipped out through rail or trucks and it would save Canadian oil companies, and the Canadian oil industry enormous amounts of money if they could simply pipe it all the way down to the Gulf,” Obama...
Alberta climate-change framework hits another delay
Posted by Edmonton Journal: Mariam Ibrahim on December 20th, 2014
Edmonton Journal: The release of a long-delayed update on Alberta’s climate-change framework has been postponed again, this time until the new year, but Premier Jim Prentice says the province is working hard on a long-term strategy rather than a short-term fix. An overhauled climate-change strategy was set for release by the end of the month, but Prentice confirmed this week the work has progressed more slowly than expected. On Friday the province extended its $15-per tonne carbon levy on heavy greenhouse-gas emitters,...
Obama hits Keystone again but declines to threaten veto
Posted by Politico: None Given on December 20th, 2014
Politico: President Barack Obama poured cold water once again on the alleged economic benefits of the Keystone XL oil pipeline on Friday -- a theme he has sounded frequently in the past few months, increasing speculation that he will eventually kill the project.
Obama said at his year-end news conference that the Alberta-to-Texas project would have "very little' effect on gasoline prices and do little to improve the economy. He acknowledged that building the pipeline would create a "couple thousand' temporary...
Behind New York’s fracking ban
Posted by US News and World Report: None Given on December 20th, 2014
US News and World Report: New York is set to become the second state in the nation to ban fracking. Hundreds of studies have linked the controversial oil and gas extraction process – and the chemicals leaked from fracking sites – to air and water contamination, as well as a host of health issues, from headaches and nosebleeds to asthma, neurological disorders and potential cancers. Energy companies and trade groups have vigorously criticized many of the studies. Yet Gov. Andrew Cuomo, in deciding to formalize the Empire...
Greenland may lose ice more rapidly than previously thought
Posted by Environmental News Network: University Of Buffalo on December 20th, 2014
Environmental News Network: The Greenland Ice Sheet is the second-largest body of ice on Earth. It covers an area about five times the size of New York State and Kansas combined, and if it melts completely, oceans could rise by 20 feet. Coastal communities from Florida to Bangladesh would suffer extensive damage.
Now, a new study is revealing just how little we understand this northern behemoth.
Led by geophysicist Beata Csatho, UB associate professor of geology, the research provides what the authors think is the first...
E.P.A. Issues New Rules on Disposal of Coal Ash
Posted by New York Times: Emmarie Huetteman on December 20th, 2014
New York Times: The Environmental Protection Agency on Friday announced the first federal guidelines for disposing of coal ash, instructing power plants to implement safeguards against contaminating nearby water supplies. But the agency did not require many of the restrictions that had been urged by environmentalists and other advocates, who point to studies showing coal ash — the material that remains when coal is burned to produce electricity — contains a significant amount of carcinogens. “This rule is a pragmatic...
Coal ash is not hazardous waste under U.S. agency rules
Posted by Reuters: Jonathan Kaminsky on December 20th, 2014
Reuters: In a disappointment to environmentalists, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued rules on Friday labeling coal ash, a byproduct of coal-based power production containing toxic materials such as arsenic and lead, as non-hazardous waste.
The label means that states and environmental groups taking legal action, and not the EPA, will be the primary enforcers of the first-ever federal rules targeting coal ash, which will require the closure of some coal ash holding ponds leaking contaminants...